royal air force

Hi all, A thread to discuss Tornado (Panavia) stories etc. Mods if you feel this should be in the bar instead please move.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Shackleton

One UK aircraft has been around me more than any other, and no, its not my beloved TSR2, AVS or Boeing SST. It is the VC 10 My Dad made me the Airfix kit. Until recently and from the age of 9 I could watch these elegant planes in their smart RAF colours doing circuits in and out of Brize...

https://apnews.com/05569875820b15fd4639ff46e9d24670 Rest In Peace. :(

All from Lightning F.53 Pilots Notes. Maximum overload: 15G lateral acceleration and rate of roll 30°/sec Motor Burn time: 1.9 sec Max flight time: 13 sec Seeker FOV: 7° Seeker gimbal limit pre-launch: 0° unslaved; 5° slaved by AI23S (export version of AI23B), seeker "looking axis" parallel...

I've tried to collect all the British Type designations for electornics like Sonars, Radars, Jammers etc Here is the list: If anybody know more designations and their design/cancellation/introduction dates that would be great: Type 1 - Land Based Air Search Radar (1935/36) Type 2 - Land Based...

This one is not really feasible but it does produce some interesting models or artwork. The USAF had its Hound Dogs in service from the Cuban Missile Crisis well into the 70s. If politics and other considerations had not got in the way, permutations of NATO Hound might have served on the...

Robert's latest book has gone to print and should be available, alongside the man himself, on the Crecy Publishing stand at IPMS Telford on 9th November 2019. Strategic Air Command in the UK Throughout its 46-year history, Strategic Air Command (SAC) was inextricably linked to the United...

During the process of evaluation of the proposals to F.155T, De Havilland wanted to make a alternative last minute submission, and Saro was strictly prohibited from this. Yet what if the board had instead allowed all the firms submitting, the chance of a last minute submission? We know Saro...

From 1963 to 1965 three squadrons of Valiant B1s at RAF Marham were assigned to NATO to deliver US supplied nuclear weapons to targets chosen by Supreme Allied Command Europe. They replaced Canberras in the same role. This always seemed to me a more essential role for 50 TSR2s or F111Ks than...

A British start-up company, Aeralis, is trying to secure £1 mil via crowdfunding to design a concept fuselage demonstrator for a “modular” family of military jet trainers in time for September’s DSEI defence show. They are billing this as the first all-British military aircraft since the Hawk...

I've posted my work on this so far: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Friend But I'm wondering if anyone here has Air Pictorial back issues? Google mentions this article...

Source: https://www.aerosociety.com/news/in-the-latest-aerospace-magazine-july-2018/

Sad news, John Farley has passed away. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/obituary-john-farley-the-harriers-champion-449661/

Issued back in February it announced an industry day for LANCA (though it didn't use that name) which should have occurred on the 13th March: https://www.defenceonline.co.uk/2018/02/27/gb-high-wycombe-lanca/

Hi! F.7/30 Fighter capable of at least 250 mph and armed with four machine guns Blackburn F.3, Bristol Type 123, Bristol Type 133, Gloster Gladiator, Gloster SS.19, Hawker P.V.3, Supermarine Type 224, Westland F.7/30 Specification F.7/30...

I suspect I originally saw this here, but I can't find it now. There was a proposal to launch Blue Steel at very low altitudes by dragging it behind the launch aircraft on a cable. Does anyone have a pointer to material on this?

Hi! Miles M23. http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=4178.0 "M.23 Fighter Projects In 1941 a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Aircraft Production for a high-speed single-seat fighter powered initially by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, then in full production, and later by a...

Hi! https://www.warbirdsforum.com/topic/366-additional-raf-might-have-beens/ "The B1.39 spec was to carry 9,000lb over 2,500miles cruising at least 280mph. Maximum bomb load was to be 10,000lb and some could be carried externally if necessary. Provision was made to stow 20 x 250lb or 500lb...

Hi folks, Couldn't find a thread appropriate so here goes: Blue Steel MkII full-scale mock up fitted with wing-tip-mounted Bristol Siddeley ramjets: Source Blue Steel Viper variant full-scale mock up: Source